Locke 2 (Blackwater Boys #4)

Twenty-Eight

Kali

J em’s way of making me feel at home was to force me up the creaky stairs and to the last door down the hallway. He opened it and sauntered in while I stood at the threshold, trying to listen in on the conversation downstairs. Their voices were muffled, though. They were trying to be quiet. I almost wished they’d had that row Jem was excited about just to glean more information out of what I heard.

“Leave them alone,” Jem scolded, cutting through my thoughts, though he did look bitter about having to leave them.

I glowered at him, not liking his tone. “Fuck off, Jem.”

His brows shot up, and he let out a low chuckle. “Where are your manners?”

“Where were yours when you told my school I like to set exotic birds on fire?”

“Oh, that was just one of the things I said.” He let out a low whistle. “Sweetheart, you don’t want to go back there, alright?”

A spike of anger ripped through me, but I swallowed a retort, knowing he was the kind of man that feasted on dramatics.

Ignoring him, I took a step into the room and dropped my bag on the floor beside the queen bed. I glanced around the bedroom. Sterile and clean. Nothing to suggest that Locke was using it. I kept my back to Jem, not wanting him to read the disappointment on my face.

“I need to go back for my dog.”

“Your dog is perfectly fine,” Jem returned.

“How would you know?”

“Must be the stars in her eyes when she gazed at Locke.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m going back for her.”

“No, you’re not. Stop finding an excuse to go down there.”

“Easy for you to say because you know everything,” I snapped, spinning around to look at him. “I’m over here collecting crumbs.”

“Just ask Locke and he’ll tell you what you need to know.”

“You assume he’s so forthcoming with me.”

Jem’s face tightened. A dark look passed over him. “After what you put him through, I think he would do anything to appease you.”

I took a step toward him. “You keep saying that. What I put him through. Like I’m somehow the bad guy—”

“You knew you broke through to him,” Jem cut in, sharply, his loathing pouring out of his eyes as he looked down at me. “No one’s ever done that. You did something to him, and I’d hoped it wasn’t one-sided, but then you broke the rules and hid from him.” He took a step closer, too, until he was hovering over me, looking threatening. “I won’t let you use him again.”

It was the worst time for Aurora to skip around him, breaking the stare-off with her chirpy little voice. “He has a point, and you know it, Kali.”

I let out an exasperated huff as she skipped a large circle around us, my gaze cutting to hers now. “I know, alright? Whose side are you on?”

Jem spun around, his gaze searching the now empty space around him. His brows pulled together as he studied me. “Who are you talking to?”

I turned around and marched to my bag. I didn’t even bother to lie as I threw over my shoulder, “My sister.”

“Your sister?” he repeated.

I crouched, unzipping my bag. “Her name’s Aurora. She’s six years old. She died in a blue princess dress, so she’s always wearing it when she decides to come around to deliver the hard truth.”

Instead of poking around my crazy, he asked, “What hard truth?”

I looked up at him. “That you’re right. About all of it. I ran from Locke, and I hid, because I’m terrified of him. Not because he’s a scary murderer, which is definitely the sensible thing to be afraid of, but I’m sort of fucked up, too, so that part doesn’t really bother me.” I paused, choosing my words carefully. “I’m scared he might mean more to me than I want to admit because…he got through to me, too.” My eyes locked onto his, my tone firm and unwavering, “I’m not using him, Jem, so stop saying that I am. You’ve got me all wrong, and while I can live with your opinion of me, keep it to yourself. At least around me.”

For once, Jem didn’t rebut smarmily.

In fact, Jem Wright didn’t say anything at all.

Aurora appeared at my side, sipping her empty teacup. “When you tell people I exist, they stop bothering you. Isn’t it great, Kali?”

The corner of my mouth lifted. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I looked back down into my bag and prayed she’d go away so she didn’t see the water gathering in my eyes.